Leaving the South (Seeking Recommendations and Collections!)

"Lead the Beggar Sect to attack the Ming Cult?"

When Wu Que and Nightingale pretended to return and were introduced by Huang Shang, they were quite pleased.

In reality, the moment Wang Jiantong and his two companions snuck into the Taoist temple, Wu Que and Nightingale had immediately returned from outside.

The temple had been rigged with a magic circle long ago to monitor Huang Shang's every move.

This was something Wu Que had entrusted to Nightingale; Huang Shang was his exclusive prize, and he would never allow outsiders to lay a finger on him.

Whether they were plot characters or other Reincarnators, it was absolutely forbidden.

However, they had not expected that when the Beggar Sect came seeking help, Huang Shang would be the one to recommend them.

Thinking it over, this was surely the feedback from their favorability reaching a certain threshold.

Nightingale laughed out loud, and Wu Que opened his folding fan and gave it a wave.

It was a pity that the Main God Temple could not explicitly quantify favorability, or else things would be even more convenient.

Of course, what made them feel so good was that this was indeed a decent errand.

In the eyes of Reincarnators, plot factions like the Beggar Sect, which possessed a massive base and eyes and ears spread across the world, were worth befriending.

Whether it was for completing missions, farming rewards, or clashing with hostile Reincarnators, having the assistance of the Beggar Sect would grant them a huge advantage.

They had originally intended to use the Ming Cult as their target, and now that they could also secure the friendship of the Beggar Sect, it was killing two birds with one stone—why wouldn't they do it?

But there was also a downside.

Wu Que looked at Huang Shang, worry in his eyes.

A war between two sects—this trip would certainly take more than just a day or two.

Huang Shang had always been a recluse, burying himself in the books of sages; he was a well-behaved child.

Under normal circumstances, there would be no issues.

The fear was that an unexpected situation might arise.

While he was hesitating, Huang Shang stood up and bowed: "For the sake of the people of Yong Prefecture and the stability of Jinghu South Circuit, I beg of you!"

Jianghu figures always liked to keep "for the country and for the people" on their lips.

Once such a grand label was slapped on you, if you didn't agree, you were no longer a man of the Great Song.

But it had to be said, this kind of moral kidnapping was indeed effective.

Now that Huang Shang had brought up the entire Jinghu South Circuit, with things said to this extent, the two could not refuse.

Wu Que could only cup his hands and say firmly: "Rest assured, virtuous brother, we shall certainly not fail this mission!"

Before leaving, Nightingale began setting up defenses around the Taoist temple, giving repeated instructions that if any enemy were to attack, Huang Shang should stand within the circle and not step out.

Watching this, Huang Shang suddenly thought of the scene where Sun Wukong used his Golden Cudgel to draw a circle for Tang Sanzang, only for Tang Sanzang to run out of it every single time.

Speaking of which, back on Earth, it must be the second half of the year by now...

Saving lives was like fighting a fire; the group acted with lightning speed and departed immediately. Nightingale kept looking back and waving at Huang Shang every few steps, while Wu Que's expression darkened, suddenly feeling a sense of unease, wishing he could return to Huang Shang's side immediately.

However, he quickly suppressed this impulse.

Before the contract was finalized, it was impossible to be together forever, after all.

Giving each other some distance was for the best.

Of course, distance was distance, but Wu Que contacted Tu Xingsun at the first opportunity.

That grandson had taken three thousand Reincarnation Points from them, and according to the contract, he had to do the job.

With him rushing over to watch over Huang Shang, it would ensure that nothing went wrong.

"That Reincarnator who can tunnel through the earth might come to keep an eye on me. Fortunately, the Beggar Sect's request for help came out of the blue, so they didn't have time to prepare in advance. There must be a gap in their surveillance, so I will leave now."

Huang Shang watched the two Reincarnators and the three plot characters depart together, then immediately returned to the guest room to pack his luggage.

Soon, he had handled the loose ends, avoided the others in the temple, left Yong Prefecture, and set out on his own.

Compared to the scholar who had no strength to truss a chicken half a year ago, the current Huang Shang had opened all twelve regular meridians and had innate qi surging within him; dealing with ninety percent of the people in the Jianghu was no longer a problem.

After all, the people who truly made up the entire martial arts world were ordinary martial artists, not those monstrous geniuses.

He had the confidence to travel the world.

As for where to go, Huang Shang had already made a plan.

It was September now, and not long after the Provincial Examination. The second round, the Departmental Examination, would be in February of next year, so he had to reach Kaifeng before January.

That meant he had about four months.

He had already decided on the location for his study tour.

It was not heading north; on the contrary, he was going south.

Jinghu South Circuit was what would be known as Hunan in later generations, and south of Hunan were Guangdong and Guangxi.

The division of the two Guangs actually began in the Northern Song Dynasty, divided into Guangnan East Circuit and Guangnan West Circuit, which were simplified to Guangdong and Guangxi.

However, this is not yet the Southern Song, and the Han people have not migrated south in large numbers; the Guangnan East Circuit and Guangnan West Circuit can be considered the most desolate places in the Great Song.

Exile to Guangnan—look it up.

Yet, Huang Shang was very interested in that region.

He had already witnessed the prosperity of Kaifeng Prefecture, but he had yet to see the borders.

And to the south of the Great Song, there were two countries.

Dali and Jiaozhi.

There is no need to mention Dali; at this time, Duan Zhengchun is likely still in his youth, not yet having ventured out to leave his affections everywhere.

As an aside, in the original plot, it made no sense for Duan Zhengchun to be mistaken for the leader of the group.

The battle at Yanmen Pass took place thirty years ago; how old would Duan Zhengchun have been then? Could a twenty-year-old lead the heroes of the martial arts world as their leader?

One can only say that Xiao Feng was too close to the situation to see it clearly, and A'zhu was caught in a plot-mandated death.

It is a pity for the empty promise of herding sheep and cattle beyond the Great Wall.

The national strength of Dali was too weak to pose any threat to the Great Song, but Jiaozhi was different.

The territory of the Vietnam of later generations was based on the Jiaozhi of the two Song dynasties, eventually becoming a nation by annexing Champa and raiding the borders of the Song.

Could it be that the Great Song could not defeat a mere small country?

Naturally, that was not the case.

It was simply that they prioritized the north over the south and could not spare the attention.

Jiaozhi grew silently amidst the clashes between the Great Song, the Liao Kingdom, and Western Xia, constantly harassing and encroaching upon the Song borders.

Helplessly, the Great Song long persisted in a policy of appeasement and concession, failing to take any forceful measures to respond, which only allowed the enemy to become increasingly brazen.

Finally, in history more than a decade later, the Jiaozhi army breached Yongzhou in Guangxi, massacring one hundred thousand people, over ninety thousand of whom were civilians.

In fact, after that war, the victorious side was the Great Song, but the losses were extremely heavy, and in the end, when the borders were drawn, a large amount of land was still taken away...

Huang Shang felt that with the current military strength of the Northern Song, it was unrealistic to want to destroy Western Xia and the Liao Kingdom.

One must eat a meal one bite at a time and walk a path one step at a time.

He would first destroy Jiaozhi and eliminate the worries in the south.

This was likewise not aiming too high; when the time came for the Departmental Examination and the Palace Examination, his policy essays could no longer just cater to the preferences of the examiners, but had to be substantive while also gauging the preferences of the Son of Heaven.

Managing the two Guang regions and pacifying Jiaozhi would be an excellent entry point.

"Ever since the Treaty of Chanyuan, the two dynasties have forgotten war and laid down their arms. As the saying goes, things turn into their opposites; this situation is about to end."

"The pro-war faction is about to rise, and this is the perfect opportunity."

"After pacifying Jiaozhi, it will not only bring peace to the two Guang regions, but the Jinghu circuits will also be completely stabilized. This location is geographically superb, connecting to the Shu Region above and the Jiangnan region below, with excellent water and soil. If governed properly, it could become a granary in ten years."

Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles.

The insight and connections of ordinary scholars are often gained through academic travel.

Huang Shang was different.

He already possessed the foresight that came from later generations.

What he needed to do was combine the insights of a modern person with this world and this dynasty, weeding out those preconceived misunderstandings.

As he sat on the boat, drifting downstream, the backbone of a policy essay had already been brewed.

However, while Huang Shang was pondering his essays for the Departmental and Palace Examinations, his attention on the other side was fixed on a middle-aged scholar at the bow of the boat.

This man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance at the scenery on both banks, but Huang Shang sensed that this scholar seemed to have come specifically for him.

Another Reincarnator?

Or...